Your argument about stockpiling talent is sound, but ask yourself whether drafting Knight or Walker would be much different. In addition to bringing in talent, they also fit a positional need for the Raptors. As much as it is about drafting the best player available, some consideration needs to be given to what the team currently needs.

As stated in numerous threads here and on the main site including the latest Rapcast, the Raptors cannot afford to invest in a big project at this point, given BC's deal. There's also big question marks about his position in the league, which under normal circumstance I'd ignore if he was a certified baller, but he's not, he's a project. The Raptors have a mandate of getting better defensively, and from all accounts he is a guy who has the tools to be a good defender but isn't. Assuming DX is a reputable source:

Even with his prodigious athleticism, Vesely still isn't much of a presence on the glass. He grabs just one defensive rebound for every 10 Ĺ minutes he's on the court, which is a very poor rate. It's here that his lack of girth and poor instincts seem to show the most. He's too skinny to put a body on opponents, and he doesn't pursue the ball off the rim the way you might hope.

Defense is the part of Vesely's game that is most likely to spark debate when it comes to his future. On one hand, you cannot ignore the terrific physical tools Vesely enjoys Ė his excellent size, length and athleticism allow him to get his team plenty of extra possessions in the form of steals and blocks. He's also an intense competitor who's always willing to stick his nose in to get the job done, which definitely helps.

On the other hand, it's tough to ignore the fact that opposing coaches in Europe clearly game-plan against him, trying to create situations where they can isolate their best wing player against him with space to operate. In these situations, Vesely tends to struggle. He has difficulty getting in a low stance at his size and just doesn't have the lateral quickness to stay in front of the extremely quick and aggressive shot-creators he often finds at the small forward position.

Also, I'll be merging this thread with the one dedicated to Vesely (if I can find it).

I would be extremely unhappy with a project if that project bust while some team drafting 6-10 gets Walker and Walker turns out to be the stud I think he's going to be.

Yeah like the Hawks bypassing on CP3 to draft Marvin Williams. A big red flag is his 43.8 ft %. That is ridiculous for a sf. He may indeed be a chronically bad shooter destined not to improve anytime soon. WHat the use of getting to the rim and getting fouled and not making your f. shots.

You don't gamble on a player with a top 5 pick. The guy has questions marks with all facets of his shooting game and I didn't here anything until this article, that he could actually guard the three or bang with a NBA 4.

I mean we drafted Alabi, on the potential that he could become a good centre. Vesely would be a similar gamble at the number 5 spot, where we would be similarly dissapointed.

Yeah like the Hawks bypassing on CP3 to draft Marvin Williams. A big red flag is his 43.8 ft %. That is ridiculous for a sf. He may indeed be a chronically bad shooter destined not to improve anytime soon. WHat the use of getting to the rim and getting fouled and not making your f. shots.

How's he getting to the rim in the NBA when he has no handle? Last time I checked Jose Calderon is the most conservative passer in the league and Bayless currently lacks the abilities of a top flight passer. So, who's giving him easy buckets and how much more trouble is it going to be for this mystery player to create those open looks when defenses can cheat because they know Vesely couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat?